Hollywood celebrity, Leonardo DiCaprio hailed a British zoo for aiding in the ‘revival of a rare fish species.’
In an Instagram post, Leonardo DiCaprio informed his fans that Chester Zoo had collaborated with Mexican environmentalists to reintroduce a school of golden skiffia fish to the Teuchitlán river.
He praised the 1,200 fish’s ‘resurrection’ into their ‘natural range.’
He continued, ‘The freshwater fish had not been reported since the late 1990s.’
DiCaprio emphasised that it had coincided with the nation’s customary Day of the Dead ceremonies, during which it is said that the dead make a brief appearance.
Conservationists successfully raised a batch of golden skiffia after 30 years, saving the fish from extinction worldwide.
The Chester Zoo collaborated with international specialists from North and Latin America as well as environmentalists from Mexico’s Michoacan University.
Paul Bamford, regional programme manager for Chester Zoo in Latin America, called the project a ‘wonderful illustration’ of how zoos should support field conservation.
‘By using the expertise and experience that have been developed in zoos to help strengthen existing and new wild populations,’ he said. ‘Through conservation breeding and research.’
The release of the fish during the Day of the Dead festivities, according to Professor Omar Domnguez-Domnguez of Michoacan University in Mexico, was a ‘metaphor for how the species has come back from the dead to return to its home.’
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